A/N: The boys have journeyed to the Moon to search for dastardly Pirate Benny and 'erase' him before he puts another evil plan together. Their first 'team' effort...

The Pompatus Box (Chapter 33: Return to the Dark Side) by frostygossamer

Dean steps down onto the surface of dark Luna with his game-face on. Both he and Sam are armed and pumped for any manner of combat action they may encounter.

*flashback*

On the flight over from Eno to Luna, Dean hardly speaks a word to Sam. He's still mad with him for taking the lead and accepting this assignment without his say-so. When he agreed to try out this new teamwork thing with the guy, he envisaged Sam taking a back seat on the decision making and generally acting like a faithful follower. He's not so sure he likes his new number two being all masterful like this.

As he sets up the parameters for a stealth approach to Luna's day-night terminator he mutters grumpily to himself.

"You're MY rocketship, huh Baby? His freakin' Highness and his 'Sure, we'll do it. Sir, yes sir! Jackass."

Sam is busy browsing through Dean's arsenal of weapons, hefting various knives and handguns. Dean has started to regret having Baby grant him access. He watches Dean and can see by his body language he's still sore. So he attempts to convince him it's no big deal.

"Dean, this is gonna be a sweet gig. In and out in a few hours. All we gotta do is locate Benny and... gurg!"

He does the throat-cutting gesture with his hand and makes a strangled noise. Dean grumbles.

"If we can find him anyplace on maybe half the surface of the freakin' moon."

Sam grins. "Nuh-uh. Dude, you already KNOW where he is."

"Oh sure I do. And that's where exactly?"

Sam congratulates himself that he has remembered something the battered Dean rambled about after he rescued him from Benny's monkey track. It appears to have totally slipped Dean's mind. The pounding he took must have messed with his memory.

"Dude, how quickly you forget. Benny told you who his lieutenant was, remember?"

Dean stares at him dubiously for a few seconds before light dawns.

"Boris! Yeah, Benny DID say that. You think it's the same guy?"

Sam shrugs off-handedly. "Your guy Ash said he's a big enchilada on the darkside, right? You'd know more about that than me."

Dean notes the guy seems to have blanked on Boris and his Merry Men. He guesses Sam's memory also has its white-outs.

"You think Benny's holed up in Boristown?"

"Man, I would NOT be surprised."

Dean has to admit that does sound like a very plausible idea.

He nods. "Good place to start the search, I guess.

*end of flashback*

So here they are, a half-hour's march from Boristown. And Dean is thinking this is where it all started.

=O=

They lie on their bellies in the moondust watching the movement of guards around Boris's compound through four-gear quadrinoculars.

"Up-tick in patrol manpower since I was last here." Dean remarks.

"Looking good for Benny being in residence, huh?"

Dean isn't so sure. "Don't see his black pirate flag anyplace."

"Guess he's keeping it on the down-low."

They screw silencers onto their hand weapons, get up and approach the compound.

"Shoulda brought my rocket jet pack," Dean comments dryly.

Sam's eyes widen. "You have a rocket jet pack?"

Dean gives him a sharp glare of disbelief. No one has built a rocket jet pack since the inventor burned off his own butt.

They engage two guys on guard duty at the front gate like they belong there. Dean assumes an affable manner so as not to raise their suspicions. They aren't exactly on the ball.

"Hi there, guys. We're here with Benny. You wanna let us through?"

Both guards eye them warily before, well, letting them pass. Sam has to chuckle as they stroll toward the patched up cantina.

"Guess you took out the brainiacs last time, huh?"

Dean wonders if Sam is maybe a little TOO cool about returning to Boristown.

"You sure you still don't remember this place?"

Sam airily shakes his head. "Nuh-uh."

=O=

The crude cantina shack is a lot emptier than it was when Dean visited last. Looks like everyone, excepting this handful of mooks, is currently on alert outside.

Dean walks up to the bar where mop-headed Boris himself is polishing a chipped glass with a dingy dishrag.

Boss man Boris eyeballs Dean guardedly, wondering where he has seen him before. His memory of the events of Dean's last visit is still blurry from the blow on the braincase he gave him. Sam comes up behind Dean and the sleazy barkeep's leathery face crinkles into a grin of immediate recognition.

"Hiya, pussyboy. You come back here to give us another booty show? We been missing ya, honeybutt."

Sam pulls out his revolver and pops Boris right between the eyes - Fumpf! - The guy drops like a gunnysack of crap. Dean lifts one eyebrow in question.

"NOW I remember," Sam snarls.

Dean grunts irritably. "Awesome. That butthole was Boris, you jerk. Now we got one less douchebag to interrogate."

Sam shrugs. "Trust me. The slimeball had it coming."

There's a noise of chair legs grating on the floor behind them. The barful of thugs are crowding in on them, evidently unhappy at the loss of service.

Dean and Sam turn back to back. Dean has a pepperbox pistol in each hand, Sam a revolver in his left and a Bowie in his right. The customers look ugly but they aren't Boris's finest. Dean addresses the crowd.

"Anyone here wanna tell us where we can find the fugitive Captain Benny, King of the freakin' Selenitists? Or are we gonna hafta take our information outta your hides?"

Sam's pistol stops the first guy that tries a lunge on his partner. Dean rolls out of the path of the falling body and caps a second one from floor level. Two more pug-uglies advance together. Sam grabs the nearest and runs his razor-sharp blade across his throat. He uses his body as a shield while Dean takes out the other with a well-aimed slug. After they bag a few more, Sam finishes the final monster of a guy when he has Dean lifted high over his head. Dean lands awkwardly on top of the pile of stiffs.

He gets to his feet, dusting himself down.

"Dude, you ganked the last bad guy. Now where we gonna get the skinny on Benny?"

Sam grins. "Whoops. Sorry. I'm kinda new to this."

=O=

They lean on the bar for a moment and help themselves to a shot of rotgut. One of Dean's pepperboxes has jammed, so he replaces it in its holster and reloads the other one. While Sam is checking his revolver, a door opens at the end of the bar and an elderly guy totters in carrying a plate of steaming hotdogs. Sam and Dean watch him walk over to a nearby table and set them down before he glances around the room. He belatedly recoils when he sees all the bodies heaped on the dirt floor.

He clutches at his old heart. "Oh-my-God! What in the name of all that's holy happened here?"

Turning, he spots Sam and Dean covered in splatters of blood and starts to plead with them, hands raised.

"Please, p-please don't shoot. I- I'm only the, uh, the c-cook here."

Dean isn't in the habit of shooting unarmed ancillary staff. Walking over, he helps himself to a hotdog. Not bad. He speaks to the old guy with his mouth still full of dog.

"OK, Cookie, you tell us where you been taking the food for Benny, and maybe we'll let you go."

The old guy's knees are knocking. Sam tries a smile on him that's meant to be reassuring but, in this situation, it comes over a little sinister. The cook decides it's best to cooperate. He begins shakily.

"Dunno about any, uh... Benny was it?"

Sam doesn't look like he's buying this and Dean's hand goes to his pistol.

"B-but there's some guy living down in the tunnels. I leave food there for him."

"Tunnels?" asks Sam. "So where are these tunnels?"

"Boris stores his ammo down there. They run under the whole darn site. Entrance is behind Boris's office, out back."

Dean is storming into Boris's office before Sam even tells the old guy that he should scat. When Sam gets to Boris's door, the office is empty. Dean is already out back looking for the tunnel entrance. Twenty yards behind the lean-to office annexe the silhouette of a stormcellar-type doorway is visible against the earthglow.

Dean shoots off the lock - Fumpf! - and lifts the door. They peer inside. Sam has a suggestion.

"If it's an ammo store maybe we should toss in a match and stand well back?"

Dean scoffs. "We do that we're never gonna know if Benny is even in there."

Sam has to agree, but Dean continues to hesitate for a second before entering.

"So, if Benny IS in there is he gonna be alone?"

"Didn't Cookie say he leaves food for 'him'? That's one guy."

Dean has to admit Sam's reasoning seems logical. He steps forward.

"Let's hope there's no one down here on the Air Diet."

TBC

A/N: What are they going to find in the tunnels? More coming soon.